Communication support apparatus and method

Abstract

An input unit inputs a drawing information based on a first language on a display by at least one of a plurality of users each locating at predetermined position relative to the display. A conversion unit converts the drawing information based on the first language to an information based on a second language. A control unit presents the information based on the second language on the display according to a location of another user of the plurality of users as a person to present the information based on the second language.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A communication support apparatus, comprising:
 a common display unit; 
 a plurality of microphones located a predetermined distance from each other and attached to one side of the common display unit, configured to receive a first input message from a first user and a second input message from a second user, the first user and the second user respectively having a first spatial location and a second spatial location relative to the common display unit; 
 a plurality of loudspeakers attached to the other side of the common display unit; 
 a control unit configured to decide the first spatial location by a time delay relation of the first input message from each of the microphones, and to decide the second spatial location by a time delay relation of the second input message from each of the microphones; and 
 a translation unit configured to translate the first input message based on a first language of the first user into a first output message based on a second language of the second user, and to translate the second input message based on the second language into a second output message based on the first language; 
 wherein said control unit is configured to select a first loudspeaker based on the decided first spatial location from the plurality of loudspeakers, to select a second loudspeaker based on the decided second spatial location from the plurality of loudspeakers, to adjust the first output message so that the adjusted first output message is allocated towards the decided second spatial location via the second loudspeaker, and to adjust the second output message so that the adjusted second output message is allocated towards the decided first spatial location via the first loudspeaker. 
 
     
     
       2. The communication support apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the first input message, the second input message, the first output message, and the second output message are sound signals containing at least one of a spoken language and non-verbal sound. 
 
     
     
       3. The communication support apparatus according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein the microphones input acoustic data uttered by the first user as the first input message and by the second user as the second input message. 
 
     
     
       4. The communication support apparatus according to  claim 3 ,
 wherein the control unit detects a language kind of each of the first user and the second user in accordance with features of the first input message and the second input message from each of the first user and the second user. 
 
     
     
       5. The communication support apparatus according to  claim 4 ,
 wherein said control unit decides the language kind in accordance with information about a glottis or an utterance style acquired from spoken languages of the first input message and the second input message. 
 
     
     
       6. The communication support apparatus according to  claim 5 , further comprising:
 a location information memory configured to store the first spatial location, the second spatial location, and the language kind of each of the first user and the second user. 
 
     
     
       7. The communication support apparatus according to  claim 6 ,
 wherein said translation unit retrieves the language kind of the first user and the second user from said location information memory, translates the first input message based on the first language into the first output message based on the second language, and translates the second input message based on the second language into the second output message based on the first language. 
 
     
     
       8. The communication support apparatus according to  claim 7 ,
 wherein said control unit retrieves the first spatial location and the second spatial location from said location information memory. 
 
     
     
       9. A method for supporting communication in a computer connected with a common display unit, a plurality of microphones and a plurality of loudspeakers, the plurality of microphones being located a predetermined distance from each other and attached to one side of the common display unit, the plurality of loudspeakers being attached to the other side of the common display unit, comprising:
 receiving a first input message from a first user and a second input message from a second user via the plurality of microphones, the first user and the second user respectively having a first spatial location and a second spatial location relative to the common display unit; 
 deciding the first spatial location by a time delay relation of the first input message from each of the microphones; 
 deciding the second spatial location by a time delay relation of the second input message from each of the microphones; 
 translating the first input message based on a first language of the first user into a first output message based on a second language of the second user; 
 translating the second input message based on the second language into a second output message based on the first language; 
 selecting a first loudspeaker based on the decided first spatial location from the plurality of loudspeakers; 
 selecting a second loudspeaker based on the decided second spatial location from the plurality of loudspeakers; 
 adjusting the first output message so that the adjusted first output message is allocated towards the decided second spatial location via the second loudspeaker; and 
 adjusting the second output message so that the adjusted second output message is allocated towards the decided first spatial location via the first loudspeaker. 
 
     
     
       10. A computer program product, encoded in a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising:
 a computer readable program code embodied in said product for causing a computer to support communication, the computer being connected with a common display unit, a plurality of microphones and a plurality of loudspeakers, the plurality of microphones being located a predetermined distance from each other and attached to one side of the common display unit, the plurality of loudspeakers being attached to the other side of the common display unit, said computer readable program code having: 
 a first program code to receive a first input message from a first user and a second input message from a second user via the plurality of microphones, the first user and the second user respectively having a first spatial location and a second spatial location relative to the common display unit; 
 a second program code to decide the first spatial location by a time delay relation of the first input message from each of the microphones; 
 a third program code to decide the second spatial location by a time delay relation of the second input message from each of the microphones; 
 a fourth program code to translate the first input message based on a first language of the first user into a first output message based on a second language of the second user; 
 a fifth program code to translate the second input message based on the second language into a second output message based on the first language; 
 a sixth program code to select a first loudspeaker based on the decided first spatial location from the plurality of loudspeakers; 
 a seventh program code to select a second loudspeaker based on the decided second spatial location from the plurality of loudspeakers; 
 an eighth program code to adjust the first output message so that the adjusted first output message is allocated towards the decided second spatial location via the second loudspeaker; and 
 a ninth program code to adjust the second output message so that the adjusted second output message is allocated towards the decided first spatial location via the first loudspeaker.